davis



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

J. H. DAVIS.

REGULATOR FOR ELECTRO THERAPEUTIC APPARATUS. No. 450,577. Patented Apr. 14,1891.

I Il W Johnflfljalyp'm (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2' J. H. DAVIS. REGULATOR FOR ELEGTRO THERAPEUTIC APPARATUS.

Patented Apr. 14,1891.

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\A/ III. w I H in mm Pains UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN H. DAVIS, OF FINDLAY, OHIO, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-THIRD TO YEATMAN BICKIIAM, OF SAME PLACE.

REGULATOR FOR ELECTRO-THERAPEU TIC APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 450,577, dated April 14, 1891.

Application filed May 12, 1890. Serial No. 351,840. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it mag, concern: the magnet, and after making the two helices Be it known that I, JOHN H. DAVIS, a citiaround the cores extends downward from zen of the United States, residing at Findlay, the upper coil of the magnet to the arm 6 on in the county of Hancock and State of Ohio, the magnet-bracket. 5 have invented certain new and useful 1111- F is a vibratory armature such as are used provements in Rheostats; and I do hereby in connection with call-bells, the said armadeclare the following to be a full, clear, and ture being connected to and held in place by exact description of the invention, such as springsfff and adjusted bythe screwsf ft will enable others skilled in the art to which The foregoing parts are common to all de- [0 it appertains to make and use the same. vices of the sort and form no essential part This invention relates to improvements in of the present invention. electricbatteries of thekind usually designed G G are the hand wires, the former of for medical purposes, and pertains particuwhich is connected by a binding-post g to larly to the regulator or rheostat to equalize the magnet-bracket, while the latter is con- 15 the current, which rheostat is adapted to connected to the cylinder of the rheostat. These tain water; and it consists in the construcwires G G have at their free ends the cylintion and novel combination of parts hereindrical tubular metallic handles g g, provided after described, illustrated in the drawings, for about half their length from their outer and pointed out in the appended claims. ends with the perforations g g and covered 20 In the accompanying drawings, in which the remaining half of their length with thin similar letters of reference indicate correinsulating material (such as rubber) g, the Spending parts, Figure 1 represents a front outer ends of the handles being open, While or face View of a device embodying the inventheir ends that connect with the wires 'G G tion. Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof. Fig. are closed. 2 is a vertical section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1. g g are cylindrical pieces of sponge in- Fig. dis a vertical section on the line it 4. of serted in the handles and standing in the Fig. 1. Fig. is a detail in front elevation, perforated portions thereof. The inner end showing a modification in the means forsupof such hand1e-namely, the part covered by porting and fastening the cylinder. the thin insulating material-is used to con- 0 Referring to the drawings by letter, A destain water or other fluid for moistening the ignates the frame or casing of the device, sponge in the other end of the handle, and which is composed of a base-board a and a thereby increasing the conductive capacity. vertical supporting-board a, to which the H is the vertical rheostat-cylinder, which magnet, rheostat, and connecting parts are is nearly filled with water and is firmly se- 5 attached. The battery-cells a (b stand upon cured to the support-board a of the main the base-board, which is made large enough frame. to support a suitable number of cells. To I is the rheostat-tubepassing through openthe front of the supporting-board a is seings in guide-plates 'i '2 attached to a block cured by screws or otherwise a board having 1",secured to the support-board a. The said o similarly secured to itself the magnet-bracket tube is at its upper end connected by an in- B, upon the vertical flange b of which the sulated wire 1' with the screw f", that adjusts horizontal cores 0 c of the coils C C are the armature,and'its lower end is beveled, mounted, the opposite ends of which cores as shown. project outward from the coils or helices for i is a longitudinal slot in the tube 1, for a 5 the purpose of coming in contact with an arpurpose hereinafter described.

mature hereinafter described. The tube I is sustained in position by the D l) are circuit-wires extending from the rollers J, mounted on pins or bolts standing battery through the supporting-board a and out from the block 2', which rollers bear having electric connection with the respectagainst it on opposite sides and are provided 50 ive binding-posts (Z d. From the bindingwith circumferential end flanges to prevent post (Z a wire E extends to the lower coil of the displacement of the tube 1. The said tube can be moved up and down by the handle j on the outer end of one of the rollers J, by means of which the said roller can be rotated, moving the tube I as described, and thereby causing the opposite roller to rotate also.

K is a core in the tube I, wrapped with a suitable packingi to prevent its falling from place and provided with a pin k, standing out through the slot By means of said pin the core can be raised or lowered in the rheostattube, and by means of the rollers the said tube may be pushed to different depths in the water in the rheostat-oylinder, thus varying the strength of the current as desired. The packing aroundthe needle must be wet, so as to fill it with moisture. conductor, and when the needle is pushed down in the case, upon touching the water apoint of the tube comes in contact with the water it is again increased and gets stronger as the tube is pushed down. Finally the point of the needle comes in contact with the bottom of the cylinder H and makes metallic connections, and by further pushing down the tube the needle will slide upward in the tube until the point of the tube touches the metallic cylinder. Then metallic connection is complete and the full current is thus thrown into the patient.

The rheostat tube stands axially in the rheostat-cylinder and the core K is metallic.

While the battery-cells are shown and described as standing on a base-board and so quite exposed to view, it is evident that the battery can be placed in a compartment so that the inclosures shall be in a box-shape or other convenient structure; also, it is not essential that the board shown as interposed between the bracket B and the support-board a. be always used, because the bracket can be attached directly to the said board or in any other or desired way secured in position.

The cylinder 11 may beheld in position by a metallic claw-plate 1, of three or more fingers, which make contact by their spring or elasticity. Said claw-plate is secured to the base-board of the wooden frame and has a binding-post 2 for one of the hand-electrodes. Instead of having the tube I movable, it may be fixed; but in either event the needle or core K is movable.

From the foregoing description the operation of this device,which is as follows, will be clearly understood. The primary current is continual from the positive element (the zinc of the cell) to the negative element, (the carbon,) and through the helix by means of any usual and ordinary connections. Inthe drawings this is indicated sufficiently clear for This acts as a partial those skilled in this art to see at a glance. When this connection is broken, the current ceases. The primarycurrent passes'through the helix and thence through the armature, springs, &c., in the usual manner back to the carbon. The secondary current at one end joins the primary currentat the screw f and at the other end at the binding-post g and when the patient takes the handles and the needle of the rheostat is inserted in the water the current is thus completed, and when the rheostat is brought in contact and the patient forms a part of the secondary or in-. duced circuit the elementary forces ofthe battery are turned into the course where the least resistance is. Hence when the rheostat is in full contact the patient gets the strongest current. The regulator-needle has a pinshaped point, because this is the most convenient shape of.reducing the surface contact with the water in the cup and bringing on the contact gradually and of preventing shocks, &c.

Having described my invention, I claim.

1. The combination, with a battery, of the cylindrical tubular handles, perforated for about half their lengths from their open ends and covered for the remainderof theirlengths with insulating material, and the pieces of sponge fitting in the perforated portions of said cylinders, substantially as specified.

2. The combination, with the battery, of the rheostat, consisting of the vertical cylinder adapted to contain water, and the vertically-ad justable tube arranged to enter said cylinder, substantially as specified.

3. The combination with the battery, of the vertical rheostat-cylinder, the verticallyadjustable rheostat-tube, and the packed metallic core inserted in said tube.

4. The combination, with the rheostat-cylinder, the rheostat-tube having the slot 2' and the rollers sustaining the said tube, of the packed metallic core K in said tube provided with a pin projecting out of said slot, substantially as specified.

5. The combination of the metal cylinder H with the tube I, slotted at 2' and the core K, surrounded with moistened packing,'said tube being movable up and down and adapted to come in contact with the base of the cylinder. 

